Rather than rolling the dice on hopefully winning money in the casinos, why not take that dough and have some on a high-end golf course?

When you go to Las Vegas, you know you’re usually going to lose money at the tables – whether your game of choice is blackjack, craps, baccarat, roulette or some variation of poker. Ditto for the sports book. That’s why some people derisively refer to Sin City as Los Wages, Nevada.

Call it the price of entertainment to keep those neon lights lit 24 hours a day. So the next time you go to Vegas, do something different with that $500 you have budgeted to gamble. Instead of rolling the dice – figuratively or literally – why not roll the rock at a high-end golf course?

Vegas is teeming with courses at all price levels, and if you’re an avid golfer, chances are you have played several tracks over the years, as I have. But wouldn’t you like to feel like a high-roller for a day? Now you can, simply by making a tee time at a bucket-list course such as Shadow Creek, Wynn Golf Club or Cascata Golf Course.

They are the holy trinity of high-priced, customer service-oriented Las Vegas golf experiences, each linked to a different hotel casino conglomerate. All three are ranked high on GolfWeek’s list of “Best Casino Courses in 2015,” and all boast impeccable, lush playing conditions, world-class caddies and spectacular views.

Shadow Creek: This masterpiece is rumored to be the most expensive golf course ever constructed, with casino mogul Steve Wynn shelling out a reported $2.7 billion so that renowned architect Tom Fazio could transform nature into a treasure, importing 6,000 new trees to line the fairways and bringing in wildlife such as Australian wallabies and exotic birds to populate the property. Wynn eventually sold the course to MGM Resorts International, which requires a hotel stay at one of the MGM casino properties (e.g., The Mirage, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay) before you plunk down $500 to play it. The green fee includes mandatory limousine transportation to and from your hotel, which is a nice perk and also prevents the public from entering the property on the gate-guarded access road.

Because I haven’t yet played it, I called the toll-free number on the Shadow Creek web site and was told that in order to make a tee time, I needed to provide a hotel confirmation number. I also was told that public play was offered only from Monday through Thursday, with weekend play reportedly reserved for casino “whales” and celebrities such as Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Justin Timberlake and, yes, Tiger Woods. (Tiger once called it one of his favorite courses on Earth, and he had the course record of 61 until it was renovated in 2008.)

When the course opened in 1990, it cost $1,000 to play and was reserved exclusively for casino high-rollers and celebs, so this is your chance to rub elbows with the rich-and-famous, though you probably won’t run into them on the course because tee times are at least 30 minutes apart. But, hey, you can pretend for a few hours that you, too, have deep pockets. Isn’t that more fun than losing 10 or 20 hands of blackjack?

People who have played Shadow Creek tell me it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that far surpassed playing at iconic Pebble Beach, another $500 course that is considered the mecca of upscale golf. Shadow Creek is certainly on my must-play-someday list, along with ultra-exclusive Cypress Point (hint, hint) on the Monterey peninsula.

Cascata: My favorite course in the Vegas area is Cascata in Boulder City, a championship course 25 miles southeast of The Strip that architect Rees Jones once called “The 8th Wonder of the World.” It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp., as is sister course Rio Secco, home of Butch Harmon’s famous golf school. Cascata is carved out of the desert-mountain terrain on 450 acres of land featuring numerous waterfalls and is as visually spectacular as its setting in the foothills of the River Mountain Range. Cascata is the Italian word for waterfall, which explains the majestic 418-foot waterfall that rushes down the steep mountainside above the driving range and empties into a stream that actually flows through the lower level of the 37,000-square-foot clubhouse. Have to see it to believe it.

On a course with numerous choices as the signature hole, my favorite is the 559-yard, par-5 finishing hole, a double-dogleg that requires a right-to-left tee shot around the corner and then a layup over a stream leading to a large water hazard fronting the green on the right.

Green fees vary according to the time of day and time of year. In February, the cost ranges from $245 to $395. But as the course web site warns, these prices don’t include the “mandatory caddie fee and gratuity (suggested $50 per person).” That means you will be forking over nearly $500 to play here, too. Interestingly, the head pro/GM at Cascata is Charles Packard, a Laguna Hills High graduate who once worked as a cart attendant at Tijeras Creek GC in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Wynn: Steve Wynn also spared no expense to build The Wynn, another magnificently manicured Tom Fazio course that opened in 2005 and replaced the charming but quirky Desert Inn Golf Club, longtime venue for many former PGA Tour and LPGA Tour events. It’s now the only course on The Strip and only steps to the first tee from The Wynn, Las Vegas, the mogul’s latest five-star casino hotel tower.

I never met a Fazio course I didn’t enjoy, including the two at Pelican Hill, Oak Creek, Shady Canyon and The Grand Del Mar, and a few of the holes at The Wynn remind me of others I have played. This course, though, distinguishes itself in its lushness, its scenic par-3s with water features, the $2 million waterfall behind the 18th green and the unparalleled service from the moment you show up in the locker room.

Yes, the $500 green fee is steep (in the hot summer months, there are reduced fees), but it includes the caddie fee, as well as Callaway loaner clubs and shoes if you need them. There is fruit and bottled water in the clubhouse, assorted beverages in the golf cart and more food and beverages at the 9th and 13th holes. The entire experience screams first class.

So why not be a high-roller for a day instead of losing your money at the tables? If it makes you feel any better, you can yell “Five!” instead of “Fore!” on any of these golf courses.